Scott Clemmensen had a mind blowingly light 10 save shutout to move USA to 2-0-0 in the Relegation Round at the World Championships. Lightning defenseman Mike Lundin got his first point of the tournament in the match, a helper on a goal by Brandon Dubinsky, in 13:49 of ice time.

Pavel Datsyuk had 3 goals and 1 assist as Russia pummeled Denmark 6-1. Lightning prospect netminder Vasily Kosehchkin stopped 30 of 31 shots faced in his second start of the tournament. The effort knocked his gaudy save percentage down from a mark of .970 to a mere .969.

Latvia got 2 goals from Janis Sprukts as they dismantled Norway 5-0. Edgars Masalskis stopped all 30 shots he faced for the shutout for the Latvians. Lightning prospect forward Martins Karsums played 15:33 in the match.

Belarus got an overtime goal from Alexei Kalyuzhny (easy for you to say) 4:45 into the extra session to upend home country Germany 2-1. Lightning prospect defenseman Kirill Gotovets did not dress for the match.

"Big Joe" Harju opened to scoring for Sweden, which defeated Canada 3-1. Harju Played 16:35 in the match. Sweden also got a pair of goals by forward Jonas Andersson. Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman played 18:34 for the Swedes. At the other end of the ice, Lightning forward Steve Downie played 13:10 in the match and was on the ice for a goal by Brooks Laich, Canada's only goal of the match. Lightning star Steven Stamkos missed his second game after being concussed against Switzerland and ex-Lightning defenseman Timo Helbling.

Thanks to a hat trick by defenseman Matt Gilroy, Team USA easily dispatched Kazakhstan in their first game of the relegation round of the 2010 World Championships. Lightning defenseman Mike Lundin played 18:36 in the match for Team USA. USA will play France and Italy in their final two matches of the Relegation Round after earning just 2 points in the Preliminary Round to finish at the bottom of Group D.

Russia got goals from both Ilya Kovalchuk and Alex Ovechkin to carve out a 3-0 lead they held on to for an eventual 3-2 win over Germany. Lightning prospect goaltender Vasily Koshechkin did not play for the Russians. Russia currently sits atop Group E in the Qualifying Round.

Team Russia got 1 goal and 1 assist from Sergei Mozyakin in a 3-1 win over Belarus. Belarussian defenseman and Lightning prospect Kirill Gotovets gained 12:47 of valuable experience in the loss. Vasily Koshechkin did not dress for Russia.

Slovakia got a pair of goals from Ivan Ciernek in their 5-1 blowout win over Kazakhstan. Lightning prospect defenseman Vladimir Mihalik played 19:41 in the match while forward prospect Richard Panik played 12:27 in the match for the Slovaks. Ex-Lightning draft pick Ilya Solarev played 13:21 in the match but was -3 with 3 shots on goal for Kazakhstan.

Despite a goal from Edmonton Oilers first rounder Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson, Sweden fell to the Czech Republic 2-1 today. Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman played 21:02 in the match. Lightning prospect forward Johan Harju played 14:31 for the Swedes, but was on the ice for a shorthanded goal by Tomas Rolinek that opened the scoring for the Czechs.

Vasily Kosehchkin bested NHL goaltender Peter Budaj in Russia's World Championships opener, helping his club defeat Slovakia 3-1. Ex-NHLer Viktor Kozolov added a late empty net goal to seal the victory. Lightning prospect defenseman Vladimir Mihalik played 18:23 in the match on Slovakia's third pairing and took a second period minor for cross checking. Lightning forward prospect Richard Panik played 14:54 for Slovakia, splitting time between the fourth and third lines.

Sweden got 1 goal and 2 assists from Edmonton first round Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson on their way to a 5-2 rout of Norway. Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman played 21:31 for Sweden on their top pairing. Lightning prospect forward Johan Harju played 13:58 in the match for the Swedes on their third line and took a third period minor for high sticking.

Finland won the final leg of the annual Euro Tour, the LG Games, on goal differential over the Czech Republic. Lightning prospects Vasily Koshechkin and Johan Harju participated for Russia and Sweden, respectively, as did current Lightning player Victor Hedman for the Swedes. In addition, ex-Lightning player Evgeni Artyukhin played for Russia while ex-Lightning prospect Marek Kvapil played for the Czech Republic. The tournament is a tune-up for the upcoming World Championships.

4-29-10Finland 5 @ Russia 4 (SO)
Vasily Koshechkin, Russia, DNP

Potential 2010 first round pick Mikael Granlund scored the shootout winning goal in Finland's 5-4 victory over Russia. Former Lightning forward Evgeni Artyukhin had a goal in the match for the Russians, with one assist going to another former Lightning forward, Alex Svitov. Former Lightning defenseman Janne Niskala also had a power play assist in the match for the Finns.

Czech Republic 2 @ Sweden 1 (SO)
Johan Harju, Sweden, 0-0-0, 2 PIM

Jakub Klepis was the only shooter to convert in the shootout session, lifting the Czech Republic to a 2-1 win over Sweden. Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman had Sweden's only goal in the match.

Harju finished second among the Swedes in scoring with 1 goal and 2 points in 3 games with a +3 rating and 4 penalty minutes. Victor Hedman, for his part, had 1 goal in 3 games and a +2 rating with 2 penalty minutes. On Team Russia, Vasily Koshechkin was 1-0-0, with a 2.00 GAA and .944 sv% in his only appearance.

Ex-Lightning forward Evgeni Artyukhin had 1 goal in 3 games but was -2 with 4 penalty minutes. Former first-rounder Alex Svitov had 1 assist and was also -2 with 2 penalty minutes. Former Lightning defenseman Janne Niskala had a helper in 3 games and a +2 rating. Ex-Lightning prospect Marek Kvapil had a helper in 2 games and a +2 rating.

Among potential 2010 first round picks, Finland's Mikael Granlund had 1 goal and 2 points and was -1 in 3 games. Russia's Vladimir Tarasenko was scoreless and -1 in 3 games.